Matthew 4:25

4:25 And large crowds followed him from Galilee, the Decapolis, ¹  Jerusalem, ²  Judea, and beyond the Jordan River. ³ 

Matthew 11:7-12

11:7 While they were going away, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness ⁴  to see? A reed shaken by the wind? ⁵  11:8 What ⁶  did you go out to see? A man dressed in fancy clothes? ⁷  Look, those who wear fancy clothes are in the homes of kings! ⁸  11:9 What did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more ⁹  than a prophet. 11:10 This is the one about whom it is written:

‘Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, ¹⁰ 

who will prepare your way before you.’ ¹¹ 

11:11 “I tell you the truth, ¹²  among those born of women, no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least ¹³  in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he is. 11:12 From ¹⁴  the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and forceful people lay hold of it. ¹⁵ 

Mark 1:5

1:5 People ¹⁶  from the whole Judean countryside and all of Jerusalem ¹⁷  were going out to him, and he was baptizing them ¹⁸  in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins.

Luke 3:7

3:7 So John ¹⁹  said to the crowds ²⁰  that came out to be baptized by him, “You offspring of vipers! ²¹  Who warned you to flee ²²  from the coming wrath?

Luke 16:16

16:16 “The law and the prophets were in force ²³  until John; ²⁴  since then, ²⁵  the good news of the kingdom of God ²⁶  has been proclaimed, and everyone is urged to enter it. ²⁷ 

John 3:23

3:23 John ²⁸  was also baptizing at Aenon near Salim, ²⁹  because water was plentiful there, and people were coming ³⁰  to him ³¹  and being baptized.

John 5:35

5:35 He was a lamp that was burning and shining, ³²  and you wanted to rejoice greatly for a short time ³³  in his light.

[4:25]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated before each of the places in the list, since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[4:25]  ² map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[4:25]  ³ tn “River” is not in the Greek text but is supplied for clarity. The region referred to here is sometimes known as Transjordan (i.e., “across the Jordan”).

[11:7]  ⁴ tn Or “desert.”

[11:7]  ⁵ tn There is a debate as to whether one should read this figuratively (“to see someone who is easily blown over?”) or literally (Grk “to see the wilderness vegetation?… No, to see a prophet”). Either view makes good sense, but the following examples suggest the question should be read literally and understood to point to the fact that a prophet drew them to the desert.

[11:8]  ⁶ tn Grk “But what.” Here ἀλλά (alla, a strong contrastive in Greek) produces a somewhat awkward sense in English, and has not been translated. The same situation occurs at the beginning of v. 9.

[11:8]  ⁷ sn The reference to fancy clothes makes the point that John was not rich or powerful, in that he did not come from the wealthy classes.

[11:8]  ⁸ tn Or “palaces.”

[11:9]  ⁹ tn John the Baptist is “more” because he introduces the one (Jesus) who brings the new era. The term is neuter, but may be understood as masculine in this context (BDAG 806 s.v. περισσότερος b).

[11:10]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “before your face” (an idiom).

[11:10]  ¹¹ sn The quotation is primarily from Mal 3:1 with pronouns from Exod 23:20. Here is the forerunner who points the way to the arrival of God’s salvation. His job is to prepare and guide the people, as the cloud did for Israel in the desert.

[11:11]  ¹² tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[11:11]  ¹³ sn After John comes a shift of eras. The new era is so great that the lowest member of it (the one who is least in the kingdom of God) is greater than the greatest one of the previous era.

[11:12]  ¹⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[11:12]  ¹⁵ tn Or “the kingdom of heaven is forcibly entered and violent people take hold of it.” For a somewhat different interpretation of this passage, see the note on the phrase “urged to enter in” in Luke 16:16.

[1:5]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “And the whole Judean countryside.” Mark uses the Greek conjunction καί (kai) at numerous places in his Gospel to begin sentences and paragraphs. This practice is due to Semitic influence and reflects in many cases the use of the Hebrew ו (vav) which is used in OT narrative, much as it is here, to carry the narrative along. Because in contemporary English style it is not acceptable to begin every sentence with “and,” καί was often left untranslated or rendered as “now,” “so,” “then,” or “but” depending on the context. When left untranslated it has not been noted. When given an alternative translation, this is usually indicated by a note.

[1:5]  ¹⁷ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:5]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “they were being baptized by him.” The passive construction has been rendered as active in the translation for the sake of English style.

[3:7]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (John) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:7]  ²⁰ sn The crowds. It is interesting to trace references to “the crowd” in Luke. It is sometimes noted favorably, other times less so. The singular appears 25 times in Luke while the plural occurs 16 times. Matt 3:7 singles out the Sadducees and Pharisees here.

[3:7]  ²¹ tn Or “snakes.”

[3:7]  ²² sn The rebuke “Who warned you to flee…?” compares the crowd to snakes who flee their desert holes when the heat of a fire drives them out.

[16:16]  ²³ tn There is no verb in the Greek text; one must be supplied. Some translations (NASB, NIV) supply “proclaimed” based on the parallelism with the proclamation of the kingdom. The transitional nature of this verse, however, seems to call for something more like “in effect” (NRSV) or, as used here, “in force.” Further, Greek generally can omit one of two kinds of verbs – either the equative verb or one that is already mentioned in the preceding context (ExSyn 39).

[16:16]  ²⁴ sn John refers to John the Baptist.

[16:16]  ²⁵ sn Until John; since then. This verse indicates a shift in era, from law to kingdom.

[16:16]  ²⁶ sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21.

[16:16]  ²⁷ tn Many translations have “entereth violently into it” (ASV) or “is forcing his way into it” (NASB, NIV). This is not true of everyone. It is better to read the verb here as passive rather than middle, and in a softened sense of “be urged.” See Gen 33:11; Judg 13:15-16; 19:7; 2 Sam 3:25, 27 in the LXX. This fits the context well because it agrees with Jesus’ attempt to persuade his opponents to respond morally. For further discussion and details, see D. L. Bock, Luke (BECNT), 2:1352-53.

[3:23]  ²⁸ sn John refers to John the Baptist.

[3:23]  ²⁹ tn The precise locations of Αἰνών (Ainwn) and Σαλείμ (Saleim) are unknown. Three possibilities are suggested: (1) In Perea, which is in Transjordan (cf. 1:28). Perea is just across the river from Judea. (2) In the northern Jordan Valley, on the west bank some 8 miles [13 km] south of Scythopolis. But with the Jordan River so close, the reference to abundant water (3:23) seems superfluous. (3) Thus Samaria has been suggested. 4 miles (6.6 km) east of Shechem is a town called Salim, and 8 miles (13 km) northeast of Salim lies modern Ainun. In the general vicinity are many springs. Because of the meanings of the names (Αἰνών = “springs” in Aramaic and Σαλείμ = Salem, “peace”) some have attempted to allegorize here that John the Baptist is near salvation. Obviously there is no need for this. It is far more probable that the author has in mind real places, even if their locations cannot be determined with certainty.

[3:23]  ³⁰ tn Or “people were continually coming.”

[3:23]  ³¹ tn The words “to him” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[5:35]  ³² sn He was a lamp that was burning and shining. Sir 48:1 states that the word of Elijah was “a flame like a torch.” Because of the connection of John the Baptist with Elijah (see John 1:21 and the note on John’s reply, “I am not”), it was natural for Jesus to apply this description to John.

[5:35]  ³³ tn Grk “for an hour.”